03 May 2013

Brownies. I think these are something that most of us love. But, for the sane among us, they generally fall into the "enjoy sparingly" category. I'm here to tell you today, however, that it's time for total freedom and abandon. I bet that these delicious brownies will be the healthiest brownies that you will ever eat! Okay...is this something to get excited about or what? These brownies are high in protein and fiber, which is fantastic of course, but they are also flourless and dairy free (other than whatever's in your chocolate). It's kind of crazy, but it just gets even better: my recipe uses no added oil or butter, and I only add just a couple teaspoons of sugar. Whoa!

So, how do you get a luscious fudgy-like brownie that is totally
guilt-free? I took inspiration from an "amazing" flourless brownie recipe,
which swaps out flour for black beans. I then replaced part of the
butter and sugar with applesauce--a common trick for paring down the
calories in quickbreads and muffins. And as it turned out I totally
forgot to add the rest of the butter, and serendipitously realized it
was perfectly soft and smooth without any butter at all! I do admit I
don't like my sweets glaringly sweet, so if you find your batter not
quite sweet enough (those not afraid of raw eggs, go ahead and
taste-test, I knooow you won't be able to resist!), you can increase the
sugar, but if you just want a pan of brownies that you don't mind
finishing half of on your own...ahem....then this recipe is good
as-is.

I couldn't wait to try these guys just minutes after
pulling them from the oven yesterday, but they definitely hold their
shape better as they cool. And if you pop them in the fridge and chill
them up (or heavens, cool, split, freeze, and make ice cream sandwiches
with them!) they'll take on an even denser consistency. Sigh... There's
only one more piece left...I need to make another batch soon.

Place beans, vanilla extract, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor (or blender).

Mix
the chocolate, apple sauce, and 1/4 cup espresso in a microwave-safe
bowl, and microwave, stirring occasionally, until melted.

Add hot chocolate mixture to beans, and pulse until well mixed. Add more espresso, as needed, if mixture is stiff. Let the mixture
cool so that the eggs won't cook when you add them, then add the eggs
and blend until smooth.

Remove food processor bowl (or blender) from electric stand and stir in the walnut pieces with a spoon or spatula.

Line a small baking dish (8 x 8 inches for thin brownies)
with parchment paper and pour the batter over. (I actually had to use a larger pan, but my batter was thick enough to stay in place in the center of my pan without spreading too far.) Bake at 325 F (165 C) for 25 minutes. Cool
completely (a deeper chill will produce a denser consistency), then
slice and serve.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Ah, finally I get to see the photos... my work had been blocking Flickr for almost a week. They look delicious! I saw a recipe for black bean brownies a couple of months ago and was really intrigued. I'll have to give this one a try... thanks for sharing!